Hi Marcus, I know exactly what you mean.
I am on day 5 now but have been amazed at the difference this diet has made from day 1.
Even though I have been having a few headaches I still am feeling fantastic.
I can’t see myself wanting to go backto my old way of eating.
Cheers
Red.

YAY! After the muffin failure I was very nervous to bake the brownies, but they worked! I read the blogs here, as the book instructions for these are too basic (chuck it all in and bake). I grinded the cacao nibs to powder, I chopped the dates in my small food processor to make a clumpy paste. Blended all the ingredients in the food processor and it smelt/tasted ‘normal’, I was hopeful 🙂

Recipe says 3 large eggs – I added 4 medium
I also added about a tablespoon of my left over filter coffee

My only question is – how can I make them more like dense brownies? They are like cake squares really. Would I just make them ‘wetter’ by adding more coconut oil?

Has anyone ‘pimped’ these brownies with extra superfoods? ‘Greens’ powder? Matcha tea? Ground flaxseeds? Chia Seeds?

Generally happy to eat these – just want to make them more delicious so that my husband and neighbours will too!

LJO x

Way to go Beverley! You can do it 🙂

Hi ascowie, I’m new too and just learning. I’m sure you’ll get loads of good advice soon, but just wanted to say I take a hardboiled egg or two, in the shell, to work. I just eat them when I’m starving (get a few complaints about the smell!) but they really do satisfy you, being protein. All the best. Barb

Hi Andy,

The only tip I can add to Eureka’s comments is if you’re making frittata it can be convenient to bake it in a muffin tray (eg individual ones). I take this to work often and find they stay together better than cutting a single frittata into slices. You can work out how many muffins=1 portion size. Salads will be OK but you need to ensure you have adequate protein and good fats with it

I take a container with mixed salad in it, have a small container for salad dressing (olive oil and lemon juice) and have the muffin frittata separate so it can be microwaved and then added to the salad container once warm.

It would be mindful to factor in a snack of nuts or a boiled egg (or whatever works for you) for around 04:00hrs when EVERYONE that does night duty gets that horrible sinking feeling.

At the risk of sounding like a nag try and get adequate sleep. (Very hard when the sun’s shining).

Keep us all posted on your progress.

Bubble day today, let’s be young for an hour today or Saturday,

I think I could live on eggs bacon mushrooms and toms, ham
Scrambled eggs,
Mixed grill
Omeletes

Have you got a baking tray that you make little cakes in, the one with three rows of five ‘cups’?

Put a large mushroom in the bottom.
Then curl a slice or two of bacon around the sides like a wall.
Then break an egg carefully in the middle,

Bake in to oven until cooked.
Lift out carefully, it’s nice, crispy and fun to eat

Love Lucia.
Xxxx

Thanks Darleen and Eureka, I’m so excited! If my subconscious thought processes are changing then I really AM making progress.

Plus, prompted by discussion here about the ‘window of opportunity’ for clothes I just had a bit of a sort out and I can fit into lots of things for the first time in ages. Fat clothes being culled 🙂

Hi Beverly

I felt as tired & drained as I was when I was first diagnosed type 2 diabetic. It lasted the first three weeks of the diet but I knew I would get through it & be ok.
I’m 9 weeks in & much better in health & temperament. I didn’t realise that I was a bit sad really. Hard to describe , but I’ve noticed that I’m happier & laugh like I used to now.
Maybe it’s a bit of mindfulness creeping in
Eureka

Thanks all of you for explaining so well, sorry this is a totally new way for me. I’ve just downloaded the book, even if recipes not for me.

The Tesco label does say total 30 of which 10 are sugar, but I take your point, why any sugar!

I love Marigold Bouillon as a stock base for soup or a hot drink, best check it’s OK carb wise. If you are hungry a cup of this clear soup is very tasty and satisfying (get the low salt version)

I didn’t know the importance of having stable carb intake, thanks Orchid you’ve given me a lot of food for thought. It is so alien to me that you’d eat more in evening just to keep your carbs on same level. It is very tempting to try 50g as I would love a fast weight loss, at least at first. I’ll have to work out some figures, and decide if 50g is sustainable for me (probably not). Got a salad for lunch today with chick peas and cottage cheese. Have to get ready for work now, but thanks again for all your help.

Hi NewLife
Yep we have the power to just walk away! Dreams often manifest things that are troubling us. You’ve sorted that one. Excellent
Eureka

Hi ascowie

Welcome. Do hope you have the book it’s good to reread now & again. I’ve worked long nights (years ago ) & it goes against your natural rhythm of eating & sleeping. You can feel colder & more hungry in the early hours.

If you like soups & stews , get a wide-neck flask & take some to work. It’s hot & filling.
Eggs are filling too. Boiled or make a veg frittata. No potatoes in it though. It’s a cold omelet with onions , green beans , asparagus or any veg you like in it. It’s tasty with ham too.
You can take cold chicken with a salad in a box.

Can you microwave food at work? If so pre cook & warm up meals.

Have full fat yoghurt with soft fruit & nuts for your breakfast , whatever time that is. Or a cooked breakfast.
It’s important to eat good fats as you are dropping the bad carbs ( rice, potatoes pasta & bread).

Other members will have more ideas for you. It’s only 8 weeks but it will make a big difference to your health. Drink the recommended amount of fluids it’s important. Look on the web for meals for nightshift workers

Your hunger will be under control with this diet. High carbs make a diabetic hungry. I’m a type 2 diabetic on my 9 week. I’ve lost 17lb & my blood sugars are much better. I’ll continue with this new diet as I still have more to lose & I like eating this way & feeling much better
Good luck
Eureka

NewLife..
OMG I love you dream ….

Penny….
Sorry this is late .. But a HUGE THANK YOU for answering my question on protein .. Very appreciated ..

💙D X

AHHH… poop…. FBSL has been rising all week and hit 9 this morning…. (wondering, with this reading if I need to start my glycoside again…. but it makes me so HUNGRY.) this week have been very good at what I eat… stayed under the 800 all but one day – over by about 80 – but…. hard to stay motivated when this is happening…. I am seriously tempted to drop the metformin too and just let all the fat and sugar flood till its done…. Just feel like it might go on forever slowly leaking out if I don’t! What do you think??…. I am at the end of week four now…. Has anyone done the cold turkey with their metformin?

Guys, I had the most amazing dream last night.

Previously, on my many diets, I’ve a had a recurring dream in which I binge eat chocolate and undo all my good work. Last night I dreamed I really really wanted to eat as much chocolate as possible and I was in a supermarket with my basket all ready to stock up. I looked at all the rows and rows of junk food and decided it really wasn’t worth it and that I didn’t want to regain weight and go through carb/sugar withdrawal all over again. I left the shop with my empty basket feeling SO happy.

OMG.
:-)))

Toddlers can do that to us… I have 5 grandchildren, the eldest 5.5years, the youngest 10 months. I’m glad I’m the grandma and can have time off from them – as wonderful as they are they are completely exhausting! 🙂

I’m day 10 on the diet and haven’t been following the menu plan (waiting for the book to arrive) and today is my first ‘low’ day. I had a grumpy session the other day which I put down to the effect of the diet too. I’m scared of losing motivation and giving up – that’s been my pattern with diets forever. But I’m desperate to lose this weight and I am ready for the challenge. So I’m doing whatever I can to help balance my energy levels so I don’t get too exhausted. Extra sleep, naps, just sitting and doing nothing whenever I can (meditation is a great alternative to doing nothing). And I’m finding that if I don’t drink enough water my mood and energy levels slip really quickly.

Good luck and hang in there Spendloven

It is great reading about everyone’s weight loss. Here’s mine so far: I started 10 days ago and have lost 5kg! My starting weight was 110kg and my weight this morning was 104.4kg. I’d like to lose 40kg by the end of the year. I never thought that was doable (let alone safe) until I listened to Michael Mosely on the radio a fortnight ago and clicked on his website and started reading… I’m feeling really positive and confident. It’s a lot of weight but it will make a HUGE difference in my life. 🙂

Hi shikha
hv been off as its birthday week and am in dubai
wil get bk on 11 april
can u write to me on
smitanaru@gmail.com
thanks

I was told I was Diabetic Type 2, 1 year ago and have to take pills and have a better diet to lose weight, I’m 17 Stone

My problem is I work nightshift and don’t know what I can eat for a packed lunch, I tried salads but I found I was getting to the stage I was starving by the end on my 12 hour shift.

I’m going to my Diabetic Nurse next week to see how she can help me

All I need is a few ideas what I can eat, can anyone help?

Andy

Thanks penny, it does. Is there a good uk site? 🙂

Natalie, I’m the same. Penny, I use the mindfullness idea, but even that doesn’t last long before brain chatter happens. I had a newletter from foodforthebrain.com yesterday about mindfulness and eating. I’ll have to read it properly, it’s about effect rather than technique 🙂

Thanks for your comment Cherrianne. I will keep an eye on the ‘What have you eaten today’ Topic. I have added that to my favorite now.

Eureka you’re brilliant at dialect speak!

Penny, I’m sure they will find some way of charging for fasting! I’m still wondering how much they charge for 5:2, they made a big thing out of the included 2 days of 600 calories.

Dear me, it was a wardrobe malfunction!! 😉

Hi AliceinSwitzerland and Eureka,
Unfortunately I’m not Swiss, just wanted to give a warm welcome to AliceinSwitzerland. In fact, living in Australia, the only other way I could get further from Switzerland is to accept a scientific posting in Antarctica! (Well, that’s how it feels).
How are you going AliceinSwitzerland? The great thing about the forums is that you’re able to get support from the ‘global BSD village’.
I’m entering Week 2 today. As well as following the guidelines for the BSD800, I’ve found vegetables most helpful in decreasing my usual carbfest. Cauliflower rice is delicious and this evening I’ll cook the cauliflower based pizza (a low carb alternative to my family’s ritual Friday night pizza.)
Merci vielmals (thank you) to all forum members.

Cherrianne, I’m taking in approx 20 – 30g of fat per day, and around the same for carbs as I’m not really eating a lot. Somedays I’m just not hungry and then some days I could eat everything in sight.
I’ve gone from being a couch potato to walking the dog everyday going a little further each day. I have mobility problems so I’m taking it slower to get my legs strengthed and using a rowing machine. Am also doing 500 – 700 situps per day.
Regarding the hypo I used to get them around the 8 – 9 range of blood sugar testing as my readings used to be high teens and low 20’s, I went off the Metformin when starting this diet and no hypo’s as they were pretty consistent between 8.0 and 9.9, but due to starting the Metformin again yesterday, it dropped to 5.2 and yes most people wouldn’t experience a hypo at that reading, but I did, but managed to bring it back to 6.4 after the sip of orange juice and strawberries. Tonight it was 7.4 so that’s good.
I can always tell when one is coming on, as I get a weird feeling in my stomach, sort of like a hungry pang, but it’s a burning sensation, which is the first indicator, then I get the shakes really bad, get clumsy and anxious, hence why I keep orange juice in the house for emergencies. Just means I have to be a little more careful now that I’m back on Metformin and exercising…..will see how it goes.
I’m hoping to see some results soon.

Anyone know how much fat I should be consuming per day?

hugs
Karra

Thanks, friends. I really appreciate your experiences. I especially like the advice to remember the basic bones of the diet – proteins and fats up, carbs down – and be sensible about portion sizes. I’m both counting calories in a vague way, and being common-sensical. For instance, the average for 100gr of non-starchy vegies is about 35cals; for starchy veg about 80cals. Being a vegetarian, I have always eaten lots of veg in stir-fries and curries – and guess what used to go with them? LOTS of white rice and noodles and pasta…So now I am cutting out those carbs and the weight is coming off and I still have heaps to eat. Smita, I hope you are still there. I fell off the diet for 2 weeks and am now encouraged by you all to return

I’ve never read the jenny ruhl book as its only available on kindle. The 50g threshold comes from a website called dietdoctor.com which shares a lot of principles with the bsd but doesn’t count calories. It has a section for diabetics but its not aimed just at diabetics and I don’t have either condition myself.

So true, Dad jokes are the best!

Welcome, iwannagetfit
You have definitely made some good progress towards your goal of getting fit. 4kg in four days, and more than doubling your activity level! You should be doing a little victory dance 🙂
Read the posts on the ‘what have you eaten today’ thread for ideas on how to replace the carbs in your diet. There are also some great recipes on the site. Cheesy veg mash is a great substitute for potatoes, and cauli rice is good with curries etc, or some of the gram flour flatbreads. Pasta is easily replaced by zucchini (courgette), either spiralised like noodles or cut lengthways like lasagne.
You will get lots of support, advice and encouragement from your fellow BSDers. Keep posting cos your great results will inspire other newbies.

Hi Karra,
So sorry you still haven’t had an improvement in your blood sugars or weight loss. It has to happen soon on 800 cals per day and you are doing everything right. How low is your carb intake, and are you counting carbs?
It did take about two weeks for my blood sugars to start coming down, so you might see some better results very soon. I kept my total carbs to 50g or less per day. I think 50g is the max you can have to still achieve ketosis.
I’m also wondering what symptoms you had that felt like a hypo? 5.2 isn’t a hypo it’s a normal reading. Under 4 is a hypo usually. It might be that your body is so used to higher sugars that it felt wrong for you to have the lower reading. When you first start having lower blood sugars you can feel a bit anxious and jittery until you get used to it. I used to have a 20g slice of cheese and take little pieces of it at a time so it lasted about five minutes. That helped to take my mind off the jitters, the fat stopped the hungry feeling, and the 5 mins of doing nothing calmed everything down. Followed by a glass of water and all was right in the world again lol.
A hypo will cause you to be very uncoordinated and clumsy and also have mental confusion. Metformin doesn’t cause hypos unless taken with other diabetes meds.
I’m really hoping you see some great results soon after two weeks of hard work 🙂

Hi Judith
I think you mean ‘a wardrobe malfunction!!’
Penny

Hi Judith
It was bound to happen… I wonder how they ll cash in on fasting?
Penny

pmshrink, I have the Headspace app and listen to it sometimes. Then either think about something else, or fall asleep! Every so often I get jolted back by the voice in my ear. I suck at meditation.

Have a good trip Sunnyb
Penny

Hi QuiOui
You ve shown them!
I was wondering what sort of fasting you do.
Penny

Hey Guys,

I am nearing my 40s and last year i was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. After starting on Metformin i put on 10 kilos of body weight.

I have completed first 4 days in the 8 weeks diet. I can agree with everyone’s comment here is first 2 days were bloody hard.

I am carb obsessed person. Carbs were major portion in my diet. 4 days in I have only 2 meal with 1 cup of Brown Rice. I started off with 103 kilo of weight in just 4 days i have brought down 4 kgs. I am looking forward to completing my 8 weeks. I can already feel more energy in my body. I am couch potato and my step count in day would be around 4000 only but i started making effort since yesterday to at least do 10000 steps and i did achieve it. I hope i can achieve it everyday for rest of my 8 weeks and after that as well.

I will continue updating my results here and i am looking forward to all the support as well from this Forum….

Great results Gooismeid!
Penny

Hi Judith
I have terrible white coat syndrome. If I take my BP at home it’s much better. If I sit and think of calming things first, like imagining looking at the sea, it’s even lower
Penny
Which reminds me- is anyone doing any of the calming meditation stuff? Never gets mentioned!

Hi barby
You definitely will be! Any problems just ask!
Penny

Hi Judith
Maybe I ll give it another try
Penny

Hi Judith
Because CK is a US site they put the total carbs. On a Uk site they give net carbs ie without the fibre added in. So on CK you have to deduct the fibre from the carbs to get a useful carbs number.
Does that explain the cucumber problem??!!
Penny

‘Me duck’ and ‘mardy’ are used a lot in Northamptonshire too. Every time I hear someone say ‘me duck’ , it reminds me of Mrs. Cross, who owned the newspaper shop in our village, she called everyone that and was a lovely lady. Another funny expression was ‘nadgers’, if someone had the nadgers it meant they were getting a bit anxious and stroppy.
I was born in Long Buckby, which some of you may know as a stop on the railway line to Birmingham.

Hi hashimoto
Hi stringbreaker

Geeoer tha’s mithered. Any road up tha mun wait. Think on appen tha’s flummoxed
Ahl Sithee
Eureka

Hi deb71, a while ago I read up about inulin and bought it ( from the chemist ) started adding it to my loiwcal shakes, I didn’t notice any difference in weightloss or hunger. What I do know is that I prefer whole food rather than a shake.

Thanks Deb and CazP
Have been following the book recipies and they seem to provide so much food!
I think this is the first time I have gone on a diet and felt immediately that this IS something that I can take on long term.
The food is tasty, I am feeling good on it, and even if I don’t lose any weight when I weigh in on Monday I will still want to continue.
Mind you I will be surprised if I haven’t lost anything as I know I am eating a lot less than I was.i am hoping that hubby will come around to this way of eating. He has had one of the breakfasts with me, and his diners have been the same as mine just with a bit of added carbs for him.
Must work out a rewards system for myself, behaviour based as much as weight based.
First mini goal make it to monday without breaking diet – manicure. 😊
Red

Tomorrow, do you want to come out and play?

Get a bit of wire like a few paper clips, straighten out and make a loop.
The get a bit of diluted fairy liquid, lets go make tones of bubbles?

Let’s do it tomorrow and Saturday.do it outside Nd away from pets, if they eat the bubbles they will froth at the month and not look nice.

Let’s all be young again.
Only for an hour, lets laugh and undo our laces, lets be free.
Come on, then
😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀🙁🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎉🎉
Don’t tell me you are too busy, too old, too unable to make a loop, too tired to water the washing up liquid. Too, too, too. Too. You sound like a steam train.
How about giving me a , why not.
Love Lucia
Xxx

Be really interested to know if it would be OK to have this on this diet. Apparently it helps to reduce visceral fat.

Bon voyage SunnyB. I find I walk alot more than usual when I travel so do enjoy yourself. Almost end week 9 – weigh in today – total loss 10.1kg (yay – half way mark) and 21cm off my waist. Down two sizes too. Taking the weekend off to celebrate 2 family occasions but back to lose the next 10 from Monday. I literally feel lighter on my feet. Have not made any changes to my usual amount of exercise yet but planning to do so for the next 10 after I finish reading Michael’s book on exercise. Have a great weekend everyone.

Welcome Lilac & Spendlovin. There are many of us now who have completed the 8 weeks and have got great results. Im in my 9th week and have lost more than 10kg and 21cm from my waist (and down 2 sizes in clothes). I like others had a few bumps along the way but I am so glad I persisted. (I haven’t even increased my exercise yet either.) I still have another 10kg to lose but feel more confident about my ability not only to lose it but keep it off than I have in 30 years! As one of the case studies in Michael’s book said, I too believe this is not only the way to lose weight but also a way of eating and maintaining weight that is totally sustainable. Good luck as you continue on your weight loss and better health journey.

Hi Hashimoto,
7 degrees here.
My nose is cold.
Love Lucia
Xxx

Shhh John, don’t mention fit toy boys around Lucia! She has a new crush each week, although this week it’s Gibbs from NCIS, hardly a toy boy lol 🙂